Where does the phrase “a month of Sundays” come from and What does it mean?

June 1, 2014 by Karen Hill | Filed Under: Language

The phrase “a month of Sundays” has become just a glib expression for a long time.

But when coined, a hundred years ago, first as “a week of Sundays,” then, in amplification, as “a month of Sundays”, it meant an interminable length of time, especially to a young person, and possibly, if the truth were known, to many an older person.

In those days a well brought-up person was obliged to observe Sunday with the utmost decorum; not only no games, but no levity was permitted. To a child or young person of any spirit, the day seemed never ending.

The utmost of dreariness, a veritable eternity to such a person would be seven or thirty Sundays in succession.